What Feat Lets You Know Other Players Stats 5e

(NOTE: I wrote this commodity on my blog back in Oct 2016, simply idea I should post it hither to be more helpful. It's a long read. At the end there is a new Feat and a new Background related to Monster Knowledge).

Tell u.s.a. what you know! INT checks & monsters in D&D 5e

Recently on twitter someone asked how DMs tin can determine how much a player character knows most any particular monster in 5e, since knowledge checks aren't as granular every bit they were in previous editions. I sent him a link to the 3.5 SRD description for the Knowledge skill, which can be helpful, simply I felt I could be more helpful than that. Let's dive in to Monster Cognition!!!

5e Nuts

As written, the rules for monster knowledge in 5e are a bit vague. The PHB details how to make Intelligence checks on pages 177-178. Like to the sub-types of Knowledge skill checks in 3.5, 5e givessome guidance, but we take to extrapolate a fleck. From the Basic Rules on Intelligence.

Arcana. Your Intelligence (Arcana) cheque measures your power to recall lore nearly spells, magic items, eldritch symbols, magical traditions,the planes of being, and the inhabitants of those planes.

History. Your Intelligence (History) check measures your ability to recall lore mosthistorical events,legendary people, ancient kingdoms, past disputes, contempo wars, and lost civilizations.

Nature. Your Intelligence (Nature) check measures your ability to call up lore most terrain,plants and animals, theweather, and natural cycles.

Faith. Your Intelligence (Faith) check measures your ability to call up lore nighdeities, rites and prayers, religious hierarchies, holy symbols, and thepractices of hugger-mugger cults.

I've left out Investigation, since you lot could just really employ that outside of combat, and we're looking for something to employ in the heat of the moment.

Arcana use seems overly broad every bit read "the planes of being, and the inhabitants of those planes." That sounds like you can employ Arcana to recall lore well-nighanyone, anywhere! My gut tells me that they didn't mean to include the Prime Material aeroplane in this one, only outsiders from other planes, but that'due south up to you as the DM. Arcana would seem to be your starting point, though. Use Arcana for: Aberrations, Celestials, Constructs, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, some Monstrosities (when magic was used to create them), and Undead that were created with magic.

History is, well, for historical events, but such lore might provide clues on how to defeat a monster. For case, the bard in your party might remember an epic poem about the time a monster called "The Land Shark" devastated a small village, and how a wandering grouping of adventurers finally managed to impale information technology, providing some insight when fighting a Bullette. Utilize History for any monster type, simply only if yous, equally the DM, know of, or wish to add an historical outcome in the campaign world that would exist relevant. Just because a player tin can attempt using this skill doesn't mean yous are obligated to provide an respond every time.

Nature, obviously, should provide players with knowledge aboutnatural animals; bears, wolves, etc, not to mention plant-type creatures, or perhaps fifty-fifty elementals if no one in the party is adept with Arcana. Use Nature for Beasts, Dragons, Elementals, Fey, Giants, Humanoids (from the Prime Cloth Plane), some Monstrosities (if they are naturally occurring), Oozes, and Plants.

Organized religion doesn't really mention annihilation most creatures per se, but I don't think it'southward much of a stretch to permit players to make a faith check to see what they know about demons, devils, or proficient outsiders that serve deities. Yous might too permit religion checks to know about undead creatures, or aberrations, since it covers cults that might worship creatures from the Far Realms. Use Religion for Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals (as worshiped by cults), Fiends, and Undead.

Those 4 INT checks will comprehend you for the "how" to bank check, but that doesn't actually help you with the "what" or howhard information technology should be to know information well-nigh a animate being. As the DM the simplest thing might exist to employ the default DC ranges and decide whether y'all retrieve the creature the PCs are facing is commonly known by the populace of the world, or obscure. That volition guide you to the advisable DC. You lot could also give some thought well-nigh the info itself the PCs want to know. For example, if a PC just asks what they know about the monster they are fighting, a DC 5 check might reveal information technology is a goblin, since goblins are mutual. A DC x cheque might reveal the average "health" (in hit points) of a goblin, or how skilled they are with a sword, and a DC of 15 might reveal the goblin'due south Nimble Escape power. You might decide these DCs are too piece of cake for your campaign, that's up to you.

Past comparing, the name, hit points, strength or abilities of an Invisible Stalker might exist much harder to ascertain in the estrus of boxing. You can apply Hitting Dice and/or CR every bit a guide to how hard it may be, but once more it depends on your entrada world. Maybe Invisible Stalkers are everywhere, and the subject of many stories told to each generation to frighten children into doing their chores.

Remember likewise that a failure doesn't necessarily mean the PC knows cypher; it could mean they recall something erroneous! If y'all desire to play it this way, you might want to roll for the PC.

If this isn't plenty guidance for you, nosotros can expect to past editions for some aid.

3.5 Knowledge Skill

5th edition Dungeons & Dragons does a peachy job of streamlining and simplifying the game. It moves more than quickly than previous editions at the cost of in-depth rules to guide DMs and PCs. By comparing, 3.five had very specific rules for determining how much you could know about a monster.

Answering a question within your field of study has a DC of 10 (for actually easy questions), xv (for basic questions), or 20 to 30 (for really tough questions).

In many cases, you tin use this skill to identify monsters and their special powers or vulnerabilities.In general, the DC of such a check equals 10 + the monster'due south HD. A successful check allows yous to call up a bit of useful data well-nigh that monster.

For every five points by which your cheque consequence exceeds the DC, you recall another piece of useful data.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/knowledge.htm

It as well delineated which sub-course of knowledge included which type or sub-type of monster, for example Knowledge; Arcana included constructs, dragons, and magical beasts. The claiming with this skill however, is that it could exist nigh impossible to fifty-fifty know thename of the monster you were facing if its striking dice were particularly loftier. Some might argue that this is okay, that to know more almost tougher monsters y'all needed to be more experienced, but doesn't account for generalized noesis people might take from stories, or studies done past sages and other adventurers that even a beginning level PC might have read.

If you want to make information technology challenging for your PCs to know what their facing in 5e, you wouldn't get wrong using the iii.5 Knowledge skill rules.

Bring on the Lore!

After in 3.v the fourth Monster Transmission came out, and included a section for each monster entry that included lore well-nigh the monster, and had a chart that showed various bits of info a character might know, and the DCs for each. This Lore approach was likewise use in the amazing Ecology manufactures in Dragon magazine. (Honestly, if you lot want to go more background info for some iconic D&D monsters, check out Dragon's ecology articles from about 2005 until they stopped press.)

The Monster Manual IV addressed the Knowledge skill checks in the PHB equally being for knowing "specific creatures very well", but opined that:

…there's more to be said about creatures of general types. Consider the whisper demon as an case. It's a 15 Hit Die animal. That means that identifying information technology is a DC 25 cheque. This check will generally yield one bit of information, but since in that location are lowly 2 Hard disk drive demons such as the dretch out there that share many of the demon and tanar'ri traits, it's reasonable to requite more than information about it with the initial identification of the fauna as a tanar'ri.

This monster transmission was very generous, then, with what information technology decided players could know with their knowledge checks:

As a full general dominion of thumb, a DC xv check or higher will reveal all of the base creature's type and subtype traits as defined in the glossary. This ofttimes includes information about energy resistance or diverse immunities. For instance,
a DC fifteen Cognition (arcana) cheque reveals that dragons have high hit points (12-sided HD), all good saves, and have darkvision out to 60 feet and depression-calorie-free vision. They are allowed to magic slumber effects and paralysis effects. They eat, sleep, and breathe.

A good example of the Lore charts in Monster Manual 4 is the entry for the Yuan-Ti. You tin can utilize this as an instance to build your ain Lore charts for creatures in your game, or equally a guide on the fly.

New Options for 5e Characters

If you lot want to let your players have their characters specialize a bit more than in cognition of the creatures they may face, I've come upward with a new Feat, and a new Groundwork you might consider.

FEAT: Cryptid Report – You lot have spent long hours in study on a particular blazon of animal, and excel at recalling important details when encountering creatures of that type in the field. You may take Cryptid Sage more than once, choosing a new type each fourth dimension, but your Intelligence cannot be increased above twenty in this way.

• Increase your Intelligence by 1 to a maximum of 20.
• Cull i of the following animate being types. When you encounter a creature of this type, yous immediately recall its common proper name, and gain Advantage on all Intelligence checks made to call back information most that fauna. (Aberrations, Beasts, Celestials, Constructs, Dragons, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, Giants, Humanoids, Monstrosities, Oozes, Plants, Undead).
• On the start circular of combat yous gain Reward on one attack against a animate being of your chosen type.

Background: Cryptid Sage  – From childhood you lot accept always been obsessed with stories of creatures and monsters, the proficient, and the evil. You voraciously read every volume you could find, and fifty-fifty studied with other learned researchers, or even tagged forth with adventurers to brand sketches and notes commencement manus. At present your years of experience and report have made you an adept in all things related to your chosen field.

Skill Proficiencies: Cull two from Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion.

Languages: Choose one language spoken by a creature from each of the two types yous have studied.

Equipment: A journal, a quill, a bottle of ink, a pocket-sized spy glass, a set of common wearing apparel, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

Cryptid Specialty: Choose two from – Aberrations, Beasts, Celestials, Constructs, Dragons, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, Giants, Humanoids, Monstrosities, Oozes, Plants, Undead.

Feature: Field Expert – You lot are an expert on creatures from your 2 called creature type specialties. You lot tin can name any brute from those types on sight, and can usually remember ane or two of import facts nigh their ecology (how they live, reproduce, likely alignment, and other characteristics that might touch encounters with them). You as well know where to find more in-depth information – how they might act in combat, their strengths and weaknesses – in libraries or from other learned sages. When observing such creatures in the field you proceeds Reward on Insight rolls made to determine their mood or behavior when you are within 30′, or with your spyglass from threescore′.

d8 Personality Trait

1. I am intensely curious, especially where deadly monsters are concerned.
2. At all-time I am indifferent to other people, merely very excitable and passionate engaging with, or discussing, monsters and other races.
3. I cannot refuse the opportunity to discover new information about other living things.
4. I don't like knowing less than others, especially where my studies are concerned. I frequently make things up to recoup.
5. I am very protective of my family, friends, and customs. I will defend them from the bad things in the globe.
6. I amthe greatest expert in my field. Only my jealous peers would say otherwise.
7. I prefer caution, and careful, quiet consideration of every encounter. Mistakes tin can be costly.
8. The world is an incredible place, with so much to run into and experience! I can't sit all the same, at that place is risk to be had!

d6 Ideal

1. Cognition. Good and Bad are capricious, merely facts are immutable, and the ultimate pursuit. (Neutral)
2. Mastery. I will non let the monsters of the world impairment others, they will be controlled! (Lawful).
3. Beauty. At that place is goodness in everything, you just have to detect information technology. (Proficient)
4. Destiny. The monstrous races of the world are superior in every style. They must, and will destroy united states. (Chaotic)
5. Power. Itis possible to assimilate the all-time traits of the monsters in the nighttime, and become even more powerful! (Evil)
6. Confidence. Past understanding the creatures around me, I will come up to sympathise myself and my place in the world. (Whatever)

d6 Bond

1. I had a monstrous creature for a pet, simply villagers killed information technology out of fear. I tin't let that happen once more.
2. My village was about completely decimated by a pack of strange creatures. I will protect others from the same fate.
3. I have been entrusted past my patron with the corking job of humanely cataloguing all the wondrous creatures of the earth!
4. I have nightmares of an impending cataclysm wrought by monsters from the deep. It must be averted.
5. I once received a telepathic message from something beautiful beyond our world, and I must find it to feel that mental euphoria once more.
6. I am beingness paid very well to bring back rare specimens, alive or dead, of some very unsafe creatures.

d6 Flaw

1. I am hands distracted by the beauty of the creatures I come across, even the dangerous ones.
2. I practise not trust the creatures I've studied, even if they are supposedly "adept". Even angels prevarication.
3. I killed the sentient animal totem of a warrior tribe, who have sworn to skin me alive if any of them see me again.
4. I am compelled to take a "trophy" from every creature I impale. I keep my trophies hidden from others.
5. I'll practice anything to proceeds the renown of my peers in the written report of cryptozoology.
6. I want to sympathize how these monsterstruly feel and will stop to ask them questions, even at inappropriate times.

That'south all I've got for at present. I hope you will observe something useful in this mail. Delight let me know what you lot think, including any feedback on the Feat or Background above; they are the commencement I've created for 5e! You can too find me on Twitter as @mjsoctober or on Google+ every bit +MichaelSchmidt.

Cheers for reading. Get roll those die!

Playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 30 years. Follow me on Twitter: @octobergeek

D&D Beyond is not owned by WotC. Buying the concrete books does not entitle y'all to gratuitous digital versions.

Looking to play in an online campaign - Can play any class to fill out a political party. No rules-lawyering, no bullying, fully inclusive histrion.

skeltondrebeguing70.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/rules-game-mechanics/14692-tell-us-what-you-know-int-checks-monsters-in-d-d

Share this post